Shatner: $#*! My Dad Says’ Ed Goodson

Fans of William Shatner‘s Denny Crane may notice some similarities between the political incorrect and larger-than-life character from Boston Legal, and $#*! My Dad Says’ Ed Goodson.

That is not exactly just a coincidence, according to Shatner, who explained the relationship between the two characters. “Third cousin by his mother’s marriage,” he said.

Shatner went on to explain the differences in the two characters. “[They’re] linked by me, of course, and so physically and mentally I’m the same. [Goodson] is more precise, though. I found that playing Denny Crane, fumbling for thoughts was the way to go as he lurched into senility. But this guy is very much ‘with it.’ There’s a snap to the way he speaks. And that’s the way the jokes work best. So, if I appear to be fumbling, it’s not the character. It’s me.”

But even though both characters are played by Shatner, don’t mistake them for Shatner. “I’m trying to get another dynamic as an actor and create a character who comes from a different place,” he said. “There’s an anger, a passion perhaps, better than anger, that’s inside that we don’t know. The character emerges from the writers’ imaginations. Then I flesh that out.”

And how will Ed Goodson turn out? “The details will come out as we do it,” said Shatner. “It won’t become known to any of us exactly what that is until several years go by.”

$#*! My Dad Says premieres Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on CBS. The video, shown below, features Shatner shooting scenes for the print and video campaigns of the show. Shatner can be seen beginning at the twenty-one second point in the video.